Draw-head for railway-cars.



4to make and use the same.

rrn Ans ATEN FFIC' THOMAS L. MOKEEN, OF EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE ACME RAILWAY AND EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF NEW JERSEY.

RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 640,147, dated December 26, 1899.

Application iiled August 5, 1899.

To @ZZ whom t may concern: a

Be it known that I, THOMAS L. MOKEEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Easton, in the county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draw-Heads for Railroad-Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the construction of drawheads for railroad-car couplers.

In the manufacture of draw-heads it has been found exceedingly difficult to secure the adequate degree of strength and at the same time preserve the required lightness and proportions of the draw-head, and this is more particularly the case in draw-heads designed for use with the large-capacity cars now required by traffic, because to secure the required strength it will be necessary to increase the size, and this in turn would necessitate a change in the draft-timbers7 carry-irons, dac.

My invention has for its object to produce a draw-head of standard size which shall have the necessary strength to resist all strain to which it may be subjected and which may be employed with the required large-capacity cars Without in any manner altering the construction or arrangement of the draft-timbers and carryirons.

In draw-heads as at present constructed the hollow shank is strengthened by inter nal independent longitudinal ribs projecting from each wall; but it has been found from experience that while such ribs render the structure stronger than it would bein the absence thereof, still under excessive strain said ribs are liable to transverse fracture, and their power of resistance is in proportion to the size of their cross-section or thickness.

My invention contemplates providing longitudinal vertical and horizontal interior braces which will successfully resist any natural amount of strain to which a draw-head may be subjected; and with this end in view my invention consists of a drawhead formed with vertical and horizontal braces integral with the walls of the draw-head and merging and joining centrally, as will be hereinafter and in detail explained.

In order that those skilled in the art may know how to make my improved draw-head and fully understand its advantages, `I will proceed to describe the same, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a longitudinal vertical section 0f 6o a draw-head embodying my invention. Fig.

2 is a longitudinal horizontal section of the same, and Fig. 3 is a cross-section at the line m zr of Fig. l.

lSimilar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

A is the head, and B the shank, composed of four walls constituting an integral hollow body.

O D are respectively horizontal and vertical 7o partitions or centrally-intersecting brace- Walls cast integral with each other and the surrounding rectangular walls or body of the draw-head. Each of the central partitionwalls C D is preferably formed with openings or spaces E F to secure as much lightness of the structure as possible commensu# rate with its required strength, and as the greatest strain upon a draw-head in actual use is in a horizontal plane the openings or 8o spaces E in the horizontal brace wall or partition C are made somewhat smaller than the openings or spaces F in the vertical brace wall or partition D, and the openings or spaces in each of said walls or partitions are 8 5 preferably so located or arranged as not to unnecessarily impair the integrity or strength of the structure as a whole.

From the construction showna'nd described it will be seen that the transverse intersect- 9o ing partitions C D, extending from opposite walls and united centrally, constitute continf nous longitudinal braces and that without adding materially, if any, to the weight and without increasing the proportions of a draw- .9 5 head they will add very materially to its strength.

As already indicated, I am fully aware that it is not new to strengthen a draw-head by providing ribs on the interior face of the side roo walls, and I do not wish to be understood as laying any claim to extending the said ribs to a greater or less degree toward the center; In testimony whereof afx my signature but in presence of two Witnesses.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure 4 by Letters Patent, is THOMAS L. MCKEEN.

5 A draw-head formed with centrally-intersecting brace Walls or partitions east integral Witnesses: with the side Walls,substantialiy as shown and W. H. SIEGFRIED, described. l E. L. BIXLER. 

